The New Jersey Devils have acquired Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Colorado’s 2028 1st round pick and New Jersey’s 2028 2nd round pick.
The winger is signed through 2026-27 at a cap hit of $3 million. He’ll have 2 more RFA seasons after this year.
Evangelista, 24, had 12 goals and 44 assists in 81 games with the Predators last season.
The New York Rangers have signed Eeli Tolvanen to a 1-year contract worth $1.5 million.
Tolvanen, 27, had 12 goals and 24 assists in 78 games with the Kraken last season. He figures to be in the mix for middle-six minutes with the Rangers alongside other wingers in Gabe Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Will Cuylle and Tye Kartye.
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed Cale Makar to an 8-year contract extension with a cap hit of $20.4 million.
Makar, 27, has 1 year remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $9 million. He was eligible to be a UFA after the 2026-27 season.
Makar is now the league highest paid player by average annual salary, his $20.4 million eclipsing the mark Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet set earlier this summer. Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million has the high mark for the 2025-26 season.
Makar had 20 goals and 59 assists in 75 games with the Avalanche. He was the Norris trophy winner in 2021-22 and 2024-25.
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Leo Carlsson to an offer-sheet. The contract is for 5 seasons with a cap hit of $18 million.
The Ducks had previously let teams know they would match any offer-sheet and there is no reason to believe that they wouldn’t.
The compensation to the Ducks would be 4 1st round picks if they chose not to match.
Carlsson’s new 5-year deal, with whichever team, will cover 4 RFA years and 1 UFA year.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2026 2nd round pick (43rd overall), a 2027 3rd round pick and a 2028 5th round pick.
The winger is signed through 2029-30 at a cap hit of $6.125 million.
Nichushkin, 31, had 17 goals and 32 assists in 72 games for the Avalanche last season.
The Florida Panthers have acquired Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Panthers acquired Hathaway and the Flyers’ 6th round pick in 2026 in exchange for the Panthers’ own 5th round pick in 2026 and 4th round pick in 2027.
The Flyers are retaining 50% of Hathaway’s contract, leaving the Panthers with a $1.2 million cap hit on the contract that’s expiring after this season. Hathaway figures to be the replacement for A.J. Greer, who will hit the UFA market looks to have priced himself out of the Panthers after a strong 2025-26 season.
Hathaway, 34, had 1 goal and 2 assists in 66 games for the Flyers last season.
The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Louis Crevier, the Blackhawk’s 1st round pick (4th overall) and the Islanders’ 2nd round pick (45th overall).
Byram was clear about his desire to be a #1 defenseman somewhere, having played behind Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin in his career.
Frank Seravalli reports the Blackhawks felt more comfortable moving the 4th pick today after the Sharks traded William Eklund, signaling that Ivar Stenberg might go 2nd and wouldn’t be available for them at 4th.
The Washington Capitals have acquired Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the Capitals’ 2026 1st round pick (16th overall), Connor McMichael and Milton Gastrin.
The Blues now have the 11th, 15th, 16th and 29th picks in the first round of Friday’s draft.
Kyrou, 28, has a cap hit of $8.125 million on his contract which expires in 2031.
McMichael, 25, is a RFA 2 seasons away from UFA rights.